DEC Activities

Discovery-Enriched Summer Programmes

Teaching Chinese Language and Culture to Non-Native Speakers

This 7-day Summer programme was launched in the last week of May. It was co-organsied by Department of Linguistics and Translation and College of Chinese Language and Culture, Beijing Normal University (北京师范大学)

The objectives are the Summer Programme are to: (1) enrich students with the knowledge of Chinese language and culture; (2) enable students to study the differences between Chinese and foreign culture;(3) develop their interest and ability in teaching Chinese as a foreign language (TCFL) for further studies or potential career; and (4) enhance their communication skills in Putonghua.

The activities organized for this programme include: (1) Lectures on teaching Chinese to foreigners, and a contrastive study on Chinese and foreign culture; (2) Observations of language classes for foreigners learning Chinese; (3) Cultural tours to Chang Cheng(长城), Gu Gong (故宫) and Lao She Chaguan (老舍茶馆) to investigate culture and language use in Beijing; (4) Sharing sessions with local mainland students; and (5) Sharing sessions with international students who are learning Chinese in Beijing.

北京老字號 (Slides)

2015-2016

The Frequently Used Classifiers in Beijing

We discovered some classifiers frequently used by Beijing people in daily life, which are different from those in Modern standard Chinese.
It is hard for foreigners who are learning Chinese in Beijing to understand the use of these classifiers.
Six authentic examples collected from our encounters with Beijing people are designed as part of the learning materials for foreigners to learn the use of the classifiers for communication with locals in Beijing.

发现北京－－北京的常用量词 (Slides)

Beijing snacks

Beijing snacks include the snacks of many Chinese ethnic groups, such as the Han, Hui, Mongol and Manchurian, as well as imperial snacks from the Ming and Qing dynasties.
They taste good and are inexpensive, which makes them very popular among average Beijingers.
As visitors, how can we miss the opportunity exploring Beijing snacks?
We incorporated our explorations into the design of learning materials for foreigners who are learning Chinese in Beijing.

北京小吃 (Slides)

Special Vehicles in Beijing

During our stay in Beijing, our group discovered some special vehicles around the city, which were filled with the strong Old Beijing atmosphere, including pulled rickshaws, cycle rickshaws and trolleys.
We blended this authentic cultural element of Beijing into the Chinese teaching materials designed for foreigners.